Scouting Expedition: Goff Basin, Pascagoula WMA, 26 July 2014

IBWOH's:  Brian and Chris Carlisle.

Summary:  Crossing the Pascagoula River eastward from Benndale along Highway 26, one may see Crossroads Free Pentecostal Church.  Turning right there, onto Basin Road, Brian and I found this oxbow lake some miles to the south.  This part of the WMA off the east bank of the Pascagoula is called Goff Basin, really a series of oxbows that appear to flood with the spring rains.  The WMA map shows most of the lakes being private, but this one has public access.  An older gentleman was putting his boat in as Brian and I readied for our hike; by the time we returned some hours later, four or five others had joined him.  The surrounding forest is dominated by cypress, interspersed with many large oaks and hickories.  This is second- and third-growth, mixed bottomland; and while we encountered many good-sized trees, very few of them approach in magnificence Treebeard and Leaflock, in the Leaf Wilderness a bit farther north, or the dead Red Swamp Giant off the west bank.  Oaks are by far the biggest type here.  

     We saw no snakes or alligators, but crossed paths with no less than three box turtles.  Observed bird life was limited to great blue heron, little blue heron, what I believe to have been hooded warblers, cardinals, a yellow-billed cuckoo (first one I've seen in many years), and a lone white ibis.  A raccoon was the only mammal we came across.

     Insects included damselflies, large dragonflies, and a big beetle who was in a hurry to get somewhere.  We had no difficulty with biting insects, possibly due to the ubiquitous spiderwebs throughout the bottoms.  The day was not particularly hot, but the humidity was off the charts, bordering oppressive.

     We heard no kent-calls or double-knocks, and saw and heard nothing in response to our own crude DK's.

Water oak. 

Empty musselshells and crayfish carapaces litter the forest floor.  

 The bayou has dropped several feet since the Spring.  Old trot lines hung from the trees above our heads, indicating the entire area is submerged through much of the year.

Impressive cavity in a living cypress, one of few cavities I observed. 

 The going is easy this time of year, although the deep-channeled bayous and streams required us to take large detours upstream in search of suitable fords.

"Spiders, Gandalf..." 

 Orange fungus.

 Feeder stream flowing into the lake.  The water was quite cool.

Willow oak, the only mature one I have ever seen, though their saplings are abundant. 

 Sandy wash, near the Pascagoula.  

River birch, the only species of birch that grows this far southeast.  Goodly numbers of them grow in the sandy wash, among the cypress and sycamores.  We did not encounter them anywhere else in Goff Basin.

Reddish-brown stag beetle, Lucanus capreolus (Thanks to Fred Virazzi for the identification, and to Mark Michaels).

We spotted this heavily scaled dead tree in a nearby swamp as we were leaving. 

Brian using his inhaler.  Not really.  He was making owl-noises in response to a Barred Owl calling in the distance.     

Neither, hopefully, is the Lord God Bird.  (We are men of Reason, but also of Faith-based Ornithology.)  West of Lucedale, Hwy. 26, near Basin Central Rd.

Conclusions:  The Goff Basin area holds promise due not to any preponderance of large, dead and dying trees:  rather, I think it is both for the large number of oak and hickory (significant sources of mast), and for the openness of the bottomland forest itself.

     As I have mentioned before, the Pascagoula and its tributaries (the Leaf and the Chickasawhay) is the longest undammed river system in the lower 48 states.  As Brian and I meandered through the bottomland off its east bank, the significance of this for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker really became apparent to me -- significance which has, in my opinion, been a bit underappreciated, and should be a factor to be considered in any survey of potential IBWO habitat.  The annual flooding leaves considerable swathes of open woodland, of the kind that has elsewhere been mentioned as important for the IBWO flight manner, more free of saplings and brush that would otherwise obstruct its flight paths.  Jerome Jackson, in remarks about IBWO habitat in Cuba, stated, "The ivory-billed woodpecker has obviously existed in diverse habitats, the common threads being old-growth forest and extensive, unbroken forest.  I would add to these obvious characteristics the importance of open forest." (In Search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Chapter 10, p. 215:  "Cuba")  

     The freedom of the River to "breathe" may be what makes the Pascagoula system unique among potential Ivory-billed habitat.  I am glad I live close enough to make fairly regular surveys of this magnificent region, and every foray strengthens my hope that one day, I may see Ivory Bill.

Stasis

Due to a schedule overloaded of late with work and family business, I have been unable to conduct any searches for two weeks.  Last week would have been an opportune time, since there were several days of unusually cool temperatures (nearby Hattiesburg, MS, beat its record low one night by seven degrees).  Unfortunately, I will not be able to do any searching this week, either; and next week is not looking promising at all.

I chafe at every day missed in the woods and swamps.

Expedition: Red Swamp, Pascagoula WMA, 07 July 2014

IBWOH's:  Richard Ezell, Christopher Carlisle

Summary:  A day-long scouting trip of the upper Pascagoula River WMA, focusing on the Red Swamp, where Red Creek flows into Black Creek, before Black Creek reaches the Pascagoula.  An initial foray into the nearby Whiskey Hills, at the southeastern corner of the DeSoto National Forest, did not yield any terrain of interest, though there were some nice red oaks and magnolias among the stands of young pine.  Much of the morning was spent attempting to access the Pascagoula WMA  south of Benndale on the west bank; however, we soon found that access was severely restricted by private property.  We finally found a WMA road that led directly to Black Creek, some miles above where it joins with the Red.  We set off downstream immediately; and, although we did not find the confluece of Red and Black Creeks as I had hoped, we passed through some very nice swampland.  None of the mixed bottomland that I saw was particularly old, probably second-growth at best; but we believe it worthy of greater exploration, albeit from a different direction.

After lunch in Lucedale, we headed back southward, this time along the east bank of the Pascagoula.  There access was much less restricted, and we were delighted and intrigued by the magnificent swamps and bayous that greeted us along the banks of this mighty river.

I can not identify this small tree near the boat ramp, growing over Black Creek.

EDIT:  Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis.  Thanks, Mark!

Black Creek, looking upstream.

Red Swamp, immediately off the WMA road.  

The water was fairly shallow.

 Much of the swamp has already dried out, allowing us easy passage.  There were virtually no biting insects, and we saw only a black snake.

Richard unwisely left his camera at home, forcing him to attempt shots with his camera phone.  The Yellow-crowned Night Heron we found here was most accommodating, however.

 A beautifully eerie stream cut through the dry swamp bed.  The water was cool, and clear as a bell.

 We did not investigate its source.

Dead cypress near the swamp stream.

A hollow giant.

At fifteen and a half feet in circumference, he was by far the biggest tree we found in Red Swamp.

One of the few woodpecker cavities we saw.

Richard estimated the entrance to be three inches wide by four inches long.

I studied this cavity for a long time before moving on.

After working through some very difficult terrain, we eventually found an old fishing camp, and came out again upon Black Creek.

 Richard in his element.

Dry swampland back near the truck.  I saw my first ever white ibis here, a white specter in the gloom.

Richard spotted this tung oil tree as he drove us down a road.  Tung oil was until recently an economically important species here.

A beautiful slough near a park on the west bank of the Pascagoula.

Across the Pascagoula River on Highway 26, then south, we found ready access to the Pascagoula WMA, and this simply lovely oxbow.

 White ibis.  Second one of the day, second one of my life.

 'Sup.

Pascagoula River at Josephine Sand Bar/Sandy Wash Bend.  Swallow-tailed kites, Mississippi kites, a snowy egret, and a couple of families swimming.  An artesian well gushed nearby, one of several we found in this area.

Conclusions:  (1) Access to Red Swamp, Black Swamp, and most of the upper and middle Pascagoula is likely best achieved from the east bank.  (2) A benefit of summer searches for IBWO is the drying up of swamps that would otherwise require kayaks.  Such areas are relatively free of underbrush, and allow for quiet passage.  But to reach such areas often requires crossing deep water; thus:  

(3)  We are going to need kayaks.

Excursion: Tall Pines Trail, 2 July 2014

No real IBWO hunting, just a relaxing morning on an easy trail.  Many birds, though there were no new species to add to the Little Big Year list.  Woodpeckers were active, as is usual in these woods:

Flicker family meeting.

Despite having walked this 3-mile trail more than a dozen times, I still notice things I had not before.  This sweetbay is only about twenty yards from a major fork, and is in a bottom that I usually take a lot of time in when passing through; and yet:

I had not noticed this cavity before.

 Looks to be about right for either a Red-bellied Woodpecker, or a Flicker.

A slow hike of a forest is incredibly time-consuming, but what may be revealed by such a passage makes it well worth the hours spent.  

Rose mallow.

Excursion: West Tiger Creek, 28 June 2014

At the suggestion of "fangsheath" from the Ivory-billed Woodpecker forum, this morning I visited an area where burned-over pine meets a narrow band of mixed bottomland, which has the potential for wood borer blooms.  I was in the woods shortly after dawn.  It had rained the night before, so the forest was still dripping wet, and it was very humid and still.  The bugs were no problem, but after a couple of hours fighting the thick brush, I grew weary and ready to retire.  There were a few big trees, mostly pines, but at least one very large poplar over fifty years old, and a goodly number of white oak.

This area was burned over back in March, I believe. 

This pine had some strange bark growth to it. 

Not sure what caused it. 

I did happen upon a feather from friend Dryocopus pileatus:

 
So it was not a complete washout.  But I am tired.  I may not head out into the field for several days.